International
North and South Sudan are reported close to an agreement on removing all military forces from the disputed Abyei region and deploying peacekeeping troops in the tense border area. A deal is expected Monday in Addis Ababa, where Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Southern leader Salva Kiir are holding talks.Sources close to Sunday’s top-...
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Syrian Army units have reportedly broken through the defenses of the restive, but mostly deserted, northern town of Jisr al Shaghour, after intense shelling by tanks and field artillery. Meanwhile in Libya, rebel fighters have reportedly stepped up their pressure on supply lines into the capital Tripoli.Syrian tanks have captured parts of the...
Somali pirates are reported to have released a Kuwaiti oil tanker held since late March.A piracy watchdog group says the pirates were paid $12 million to release the ship.The 29-member crew is said to be doing okay.The MV Zirku was captured in the Gulf of Aden while sailing to Singapore from Sudan.Somali pirates continue to terrorize shipping in...
Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Arabi has announced his country's support of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde's bid to lead the International Monetary Fund.Arabi made the announcement Sunday in Cairo following meetings with Lagarde, who is in Egypt as part of a visit to the region to shore up support for her candidacy.The post became...
Diplomatic efforts are underway in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, beginning with a crucial meeting of the leaders of North and South Sudan. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is due to arrive just as the summit ends.Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and South Sudan’s soon-to-be head of state Salva Kiir will hold critical talks...
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the death of a man suspected of playing a key role in the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania is a significant blow to al-Qaida. Secretary Clinton says Harun Fazul's death is “a significant blow to Al Qaeda, its extremist allies, and its operations in East Africa.”In a written...
The conflict in Western Sudan's Darfur region erupted more than eight years ago. It has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced an estimated two million people. Disputes over scarce water and grazing land between black African farmers and Arab pastoralist communities triggered the war. Lack of access to water remains one of the...
Somali authorities say the man believed to be al-Qaida's leader in East Africa is dead, killed during a confrontation with police. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was believed to have played a key role in the deadly bombing attacks in 1998 that caused mass casualties and severely damaged U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam. The United States...
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Libya's southern neighbor Chad supports efforts to drive Moammar Gadhafi from power. She met with Chad's foreign minister at a trade conference in Zambia, where they also discussed ongoing violence in southern Sudan. Clinton said Chadian President Idriss Deby's government supports Gadhafi opponents who...
A new round of suspected NATO airstrikes shook the Libyan capital and its suburbs early Friday, a day after allied and Arab nations pledged more than $1.1 billion to help Libya's opposition council and civilians affected by the country's conflict.The 22-member Libya Contact Group announced the series of financial measures Thursday as they met in...
International financial institutions are urging Ethiopia to shift its emphasis away from central economic planning and adopt more market-oriented policies. Two departing senior economists are pointing to the need for a change of course to revive Ethiopia’s battered private sector and spur much-needed investment.In separate interviews this week,...
Officials in U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration say they are confident that U.S. and NATO actions in Libya will bring the end of Moammar Gadhafi’s rule.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney did not confirm or deny remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that people close to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are offering to negotiate...
Special United Nations investigators accuse government forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity - charges that Libya denies. Members of an international Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate human rights violations in the midst of the ongoing war say they, too, have evidence of war...
African business leaders are meeting in Zambia for talks on how they can take better advantage of U.S. trade preferences. The Obama administration wants Congress to extend those duty-free imports.In the 10 years of trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act [AGOA], exports to the United States have grown from $23 billion to $64...
World Health officials have released the most comprehensive global survey to date of how mobile phones and other wireless communication technologies are improving health care delivery around the world.
The World Health Organization survey notes that there are more than five billion mobile phone subscribers in the world today. That means more than...